Photos of biggest upcoming fall 2018 concerts in Phoenix

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 03: Donald Glover of Childish Gambino performs onstage during the 2017 Governors Ball Music Festival - Day 2 at Randall's Island on June 3, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images)(Photo: Nicholas Hunt, Getty Images)

Childish Gambino and Travis Scott are the season's last two big arena shows as we head into winter.

Here's a look at those and other concerts swinging through the Valley's biggest rooms, from rock and pop to hip-hop, R&B and country.

12/12: The Robert Cray Band

It’s been 32 years since “Strong Persuader” took this soulful blues guitarist to the mainstream, largely on the strength of “Smoking Gun,” a breakthrough single that remains his biggest hit.

It’s doubtful Cray, now 64, will ever top the double-platinum benchmark set by “Strong Persuader.” But the album this tour is supporting, “Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm,” proves that Cray still has a lot to offer as a mainstream blues ambassador.

12/12: Middle Kids

They're touring the States in support of "Lost Friends," a full-length debut that was recently named Australian Album of the Year by Triple J, Australia's national radio home for alternative music. And it's easy to hear what Triple J was thinking.

As The Line of Best Fit summed it up, it's "an essential first listen that is never too afraid of a huge chorus or a touch of slow burning intensity." It helps to have a voice as powerful as Hannah Joy's out front commanding your attention.

12/14: John Prine

A songwriter's songwriter, Prine was picked up by Atlantic Records after Jerry Wexler caught him opening for Kris Kristofferson.

His 1971 self-titled debut — whose highlights range from "Angel From Montgomery" to "Sam Stone," was named one of the 500 greatest albums of all time by Rolling Stone. He arrives in support of "The Tree of Forgiveness," which debuted at No. 5 on Billboard's album chart, a new career high for the legendary talent.

12/14: OK Go

It was a series of imaginative videos that made these rockers famous, so it only stands to reason that they'd dream up a creative way to shine a spotlight on that side of what they do (not that their music isn't strong enough to stand or fall on its own merits).

They're performing songs live in sync with 20 of their videos, pausing for question/answer sessions with the crowd.

12/14: Daughtry

Chris Daughtry finished fourth on Season 5 of "American Idol," but only two "Idol" winners — Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson — have sold more albums. So he may have lost the battle, but he won the war.

The post-grunge singer and the band that bears his name are touring in support of "Cage to Rattle," which became their fifth consecutive release to crack the Top 10 on the Billboard album chart.

12/15: The Brian Setzer Orchestra

Whether leading the rockabilly revival of the '80s with the Stray Cats or the swing revival of the '90s with the Brian Setzer Orchestra, Setzer has carved a niche for himself as the greatest roots guitarist of his generation. His 15th Christmas Rocks! Tour features him leading his 19-piece orchestra through music from their four best-selling holiday albums as well as the guitarist’s other hits.

12/15: Childish Gambino

Glover topped the Billboard Hot 100 with "This is America," a mainstream breakthrough driven by a chilling music video that took home three MTV Video Music Awards while offering a sobering reflection on gun violence and art in the U.S.A.

In addition to picking up two Golden Globe Awards and two Emmys as an actor and director for the TV show "Atlanta," Glover won his first Grammy, as Childish Gambino, earlier this year for the classic R&B of "Redbone."

12/15: Blue October

Led by singer Justin Furstenfeld, the Houston alternative-rockers are touring on "I Hope You're Happy," their fifth consecutive release to debut in the Top 5 on Billboard's alternative and rock charts.

The Austin American Statesman said the album "hearkens back to the 1980s heyday of The Cure, an immediately catchy melody with a touch of new-wave-era sonic wash."

12/15: T.S.O.L.

It was a joy to behold Jack Grisham led his bandmates in a raucous set of T.S.O.L. classics and selections from “The Trigger Complex,” their somewhat poppier new album, at 2017's Coachella, where punk wasn't dead but it certainly wasn't in fashion.

Rocking a white suit Elvis Presley would have loved if it didn’t have “T.S.O.L. Rules” on the back with a skull and roses (“T.C.B. Rules,” maybe), Grisham was among the festival’s more entertaining personalities.

12/15: The Regrettes

There’s always something to be said for filtering the timeless charm of ‘60s girl-group music through the snarl and sneer of classic punk. That something is, “I love when people do that, especially women or, in this case, teenage girls.”

Alternative Press responded to their raucous debut, “Feel Your Feelings Fool!” with “Sixteen-year-old vocalist Lydia Night isn't afraid to speak her mind, and the members of the Regrettes match her gritty vocal delivery and feminist sentiments with raucous rock 'n' roll guitars coated with buzzy noise and distortion.”

12/16: Il Divo

Brought together in 2003 by Simon Cowell, Spanish baritone Carlos Marín, Swiss tenor Urs Bühler, American tenor David Miller and French pop singer Sébastien Izambard are celebrating 15 years together on the road in support of an album called "Timeless."

Il Divo.(Photo: File photo)

The singers will be joined on stage by acrobats and dancers as they offer tracks from "Timeless" with a selection of earlier hits.

12/16: Ministry

As the title would suggest, "AmeriKKKant" pulls no punches when it comes to weighing in our our current political climate, from "Victims of a Clown" to "Antifa." But then, Al Jourgensen has never been the type to shy away from controversy. Kerrang! responded with "You might have to go back to 1989's 'The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste' to find Ministry sounding quite as vital and engaged as they do here." Magnet called it "the most powerful and overtly political albums he's ever made."

12/16: Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul

The E Street Band guitarist and his Disciples of Soul pulled in raves for 2017's "Soulfire." The album effortlessly taps into the essence of their best work while reminding you that they're not kidding with that band name. They are true disciples of this music.

Paste Magazine responded to the album with a rave, concluding, "In a world where prettified and production-enhanced voices are standard, this is a real man bringing every ounce to the table."

12/16: Tom Morello

The legendary guitarist, who rose to fame as a member of Rage Against the Machine, arrives in support of "The Atlas Underground," a genre-mashing album that features guest appearances by Marcus Mumford, Portugal. The Man, Gary Clark Jr. and more.

The Atlas Underground Experience gives fans the opportunity to hang with Morello as he shares behind-the-scenes stories about the making of the album. This event also promises live guitar demonstrations.

12/18: Travis Scott

Astroworld: Wish You Were Here is the multi-platinum rapper's biggest tour to date, in support of his second consecutive chart-topping album, "Astroworld." According to a press release, "The artist has envisioned a show unlike anything done before and unlikely to be topped." And having seen him once perform what seemed like his entire set on the back of a flying mechanical bird, I have no doubt.

12/21: Jason Mraz and Toca Rivera

This Live In Stereo Tour features Jason Mraz and his longtime percussionist Toca Rivera performing a series of intimate acoustic concert.

The star, whose hits include "I'm Yours," "I Won't Give Up" and "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)," the breakthrough single that launched his career, is touring in support of "Know.," his long-awaited followup to 2014's "Yes!" And oh, we do see what he did there.

PAST EVENTS

9/12: O.A.R.

They topped the U.S. independent album charts in 2014 with "The Rockville LP," an album named for the city in Maryland where they fell in love with music in the first place.

In an interview with CBS News, singer Marc Roberge explained their decision to bring it on home. "I think when you're home and you're present and you're looking at life the way you do when you're a child, it's something really special," he said.

9/12: Gov't Mule

Warren Haynes and his bandmates are headed to Phoenix in support of “Revolution Come… Revolution Go,” a 10 album that finds the guitarist wondering “Has the whole world gone insane?” in the course of addressing these turbulent times.

Warren Haynes of Gov't Mule performs onstage at One More For The Fans! - Celebrating the Songs & Music of Lynyrd Skynyrd at The Fox Theatre on November 12, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia.(Photo: Mike Coppola | Getty Images)

“There are no glib solutions on offer,” writes Classic Rock magazine, “no political polemic, just the realisation that America is now a deeply divided nation and that this issue needs to be addressed.”

9/13: Rascal Flatts

They’ve sent 17 songs to No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart, but the industry trade publication says, “The road has been where the band has done some of their most inspiring work over the years.” The biggest of those hits are "Bless the Broken Road," "What Hurts the Most" and "My Wish," all of which went platinum.

9/13-14: Nine Inch Nails

Trent Reznor and this year's assortment of Nails will launch their Cold and Black and Infinite North America Tour with two dates in Phoenix, at which they'll be joined by the Jesus and Mary Chain and Tobacco. The tour is in support of "Bad Witch," completing the trilogy that began with 2016’s "Not The Actual Events" and 2017’s "ADD VIOLENCE."

9/15: Alice in Chains

Singer-guitarist Jerry Cantrell, drummer Sean Kinney, bassist Mike Inez and singer-guitarist William DuVall topped the rock, alternative and hard music charts in August with "Rainier Fog," the much-anticipated follow-up to 2013’s "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here."

NME wrote that although they were always on the more metallic side of the alt-rock boom that emerged from Seattle in the early '90s, "on 'Rainier Fog,' there’s a beauty and an expanse – as well as a major chord or two – that sees the band evolving."

9/15: Keyshia Cole

This soulful R&B star’s first three albums all went platinum while sending three songs — “Let It Go,” “I Remember” and “Heaven Sent” — to No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B chart. Last years "11:11 Reset" put her back at No. 1 on the R&B charts.

Keyshia Cole.(Photo: Handout, Derek Blanks)

This is one of those Grown & Sexy shows with J. Holiday, who topped the R&B charts with his best-known single, "Bed."

9/15: Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators

The Guns N' Roses guitarist returns to Phoenix a week before hitting the streets with an album called "Living the Dream," his third recording with Kennedy & the Conspirators.

Classic Rock responded to their second album, "World on Fire," whose title track topped Billboard's mainstream-rock charts, with "Listening to all 17 tracks in one go feels like going 12 rounds with a heavyweight boxer, a championship belt on the line."

9/16: Miguel

The Ascension tour brings the Grammy-winning neo-soul sensation to the Valley in support of last year’s "War & Leisure," which topped the R&B charts and spawned his biggest-selling single since "Adorn," the Travis Scott-assisted "Sky Walker." Released in 2012 as the opening track of “Kaleidoscope Dream,” “Adorn” earned the singer best R&B song at the Grammys, where his show-stopping performance of that song had Kelly Clarkson testifying, “That was the sexiest goddamn thing I’ve ever seen.”

9/18: Chris Robinson Brotherhood

From the time the Black Crowes hit the streets with "Shake Your Money Maker," it was clear that we were dealing with a singer who could more than hold his own against the best his generation had to offer, boldly taking on an Otis Redding cover in the bargain.

As for the Brotherhood, Robinson explained in a press release, "The music that we make, the concerts that we play, it's this world we've created for ourselves and our people. We don’t have the weight of responsibility or nostalgia, which means we're in the very psychedelic situation of getting to be totally honest and create everything in the moment. That's freedom."

9/18: Suicidal Tendencies

It's been 35 years Suicidal Tendencies grabbed the punk scene by the studded collar with the classic self-titled debut that gave the world "Institutionalized" on which lead singer Mike Muir memorably tells his mother "All I wanted was a Pepsi!"

And they're "Still Cyco Punk After All These Years" as they've named their latest effort, due Sept. 7. Assuming it rocks with the reckless abandon they managed on 2016's aptly titled "World Gone Mad," you'll swear they haven't aged a day since 1983.

9/19: Jay-Z and Beyonce

America's favorite power couple haven't toured together since the summer of 2014, when the first On the Run tour played for six weeks in sold-out stadiums supporting the 2013 self-titled Beyonce release as well as Jay-Z’s “Magna Carta Holy Grail.”

The Guardian called it "a mature, battle-worn, convincing love affair between two huge entertainers ... played out on a vast stage with a set the size of a small city block, with double-jointed dancers, live horn and string sections and mobile hydraulic platforms."

9/19: Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue

To celebrate the tricentennial of New Orleans, the trombonist has handpicked an all-star assortment of Crescent City musicians to join him in bringing the spirit and the sound of his hometown to 27 cities on the aptly titled Voodoo Threauxdown.

The touring street party also features Galactic, Preservation Hall Jazz Band and New Breed Brass Band, with special guest appearances by Cyril Neville, Ivan Neville, Kermit Ruffins, Walter “Wolfman” Washington and more.

9/21: Los Temerarios

It's been 40 years since two brothers – Adolfo and Gustavo Angel – formed the group that would become Los Temerarios with their cousin Fernando Angel, who's no longer involved in the project. All Music Guide describes their sounds as "bubblegum ranchera"and goes on to say it "was the romantic soundtrack of millions of Mexican and Mexican-American youths' lives during the '90s."

9/21: Wolfmother

These stoner-rock revivalists emerged from Australia in 2006 with a self-titled triumph that wore its debt to Ozzy-era Sabbath like a badge of honor (more than likely sewn onto a faded denim jacket).

And their love of that specific era in rock history was every bit as evident on 2016’s “Victorious,” despite the fact that singer Andrew Stockdale was the lone remaining member of the early lineup still on board.

Wolfmother performs on the Palladia Stage at the Kickoff Party at Hangout Music Fest.(Photo: Phil Bailey/GoPensacola.com)

But they'd also expanded the scope of their sound just enough to allow for departures as intriguing as an acoustic-guitar-driven ballad that ambled along like an outtake from Tom Petty's "Wildflowers."

9/22: Ms. Lauryn Hill

This is a tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," an eight-times platinum debut on which the former Fugee's reputation may forever rest — in part because it’s so good and in part because she's yet to make another proper album. She did the “MTV Unplugged” thing in 2001 and has released a small handful of singles, including 2010's “Repercussions" and 2013's "Neurotic Society." She's also been sampled to brilliant effect on "Nice For What" by Drake, which spent six weeks at No. 1.

9/22: Thrice

These are Thrice’s final shows before returning to the studio to start recording their 10th album. And it’s more than a little surprising that they'd be returning to the studio this soon. “To Be Everywhere is to Be Nowhere” was their first release in five years.

Sputnikmusic said of "To Be Everywhere," "There is familiarity here, but nothing feels routine. This is an album as cohesive and thunderous as it would have been if it had come out in 2014."

9/22: Kali Uchis

This Colombian-American R&B sensation is touring in support of "Isolation," an acclaimed debut that makes the most of guest appearances by Bootsy Collins, Tyler, the Creator, Damon Albarn, Tame Impala's Kevin Parker, Thundercat and TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek.

9/22: First Aid Kit

Swedish sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg are touring in support of a heartbreaking gem of a breakup album, aptly titled "Ruins," that often appears to be channeling the early works of Leonard Cohen.

The close country harmonies are gorgeous as they flesh out their fresh take on Cosmic American Music with chamber-pop flourishes, including mariachi horns, after setting the tone with an opening track that comes right out and sums it up with "All is futile."

9/22: HONNE

James Hatcher and Andy Clutterbuck are touring the States in support of "Love Me/Love Me Not," a second album of silky electro-soul ballads arranged as a concept album – one side exploring the bright side of life while the other puts the spotlight on sadness.

9/23: NEEDTOBREATHE

These GRAMMY-nominated rockers, led by singer-guitarists Bear Rinehart and his brother Bo, topped the rock and alternative album charts with their most recent albums, 2014's "Rivers in the Wasteland" and 2016's "Hard Love. Although they've sent a slew of heartfelt singles up the charts at Christian radio, they'd rather not be classified as such. As they explained to Rolling Stone, "Any label is limiting. That one in particular is especially limiting."

Bear Rinehart and Seth Bolt of NEEDTOBREATHE perform at the 2012 BamaJam Music and Arts Festival in Enterprise Alabama on June 15, 2012(Photo: Rick Diamond, Getty Images)

Osborne topped the R&B charts with 1988’s “She’s on the Left.” His other hits include “On The Wings Of Love,” “You Should Be Mine (The Woo Woo Song)” and “Love Power,” a duet with Dionne Warwick. Randy Jackson of “American Idol” hosts.

9/23: Macy Gray

Blessed with a disarmingly distinctive voice, this singer hit the mainstream with a triple-platinum 1999 debut, "On How Life Is," a breakthrough driven by the Grammy-winning single that remains her calling card, "I Try." She arrives in support of a 10th album, "Ruby," which features guest appearances by Meghan Trainor and Gary Clark, Jr. The album follows "Stripped," a 10-song collection of jazz-flavored covers, including "I Try" and Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters."

9/24: Hinds

Led by guitar-playing vocalists Ana Perrote and Carlotta Cosials, these young Spanish women are touring the States in support of "I Don't Run," a second album of reckless, infectious garage-rock. Drowned in Sound says, "They may not push past boundaries they are comfortable with, but they have identified the qualities that make them special--carving out their own niche in the modern music spectrum of loveable lo-fi embedded with off-kilter charm.

9/25-26: Greta Van Fleet

If all you ever wanted out of life was one more opportunity to see Led Zeppelin live, I'm pretty sure you missed the boat on that one. But say you were willing to settle for getting your Led out with some truly talented pretenders to the throne. Well, these guys somehow found a way to sound more like Led Zeppelin than Led Zeppelin ever did at times on "From the Fires."

Sam Kiszka of Greta Van Fleet performs onstage during the 2018 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Field on April 20, 2018 in Indio, California.(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

9/29: Dierks Bentley

The Mountain High Tour takes its name from the Phoenix native's fourth consecutive release to top the Billboard country charts, "The Mountain." The singer's ninth album since signing to Capitol Nashville spawned his latest hit to top the country airplay charts, "Woman, Amen." He's previously topped that chart with the platinum smashes "I Hold On," "Drunk on a Plane," "Somewhere on a Beach" and "Different For Girls."

9/29: J Balvin

The Colombian superstar is on tour in support of "Virbas," his second consecutive effort to top the U.S. Latin charts. The singer topped the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year as a featured guest (with Bad Bunny) on the double-platinum Cardi B hit "I Like It Like That." His other big crossover hit in the States is "Mi Gente."

9/29: Flogging Molly/Dropkick Murphys

These punk veterans share an Irish heritage, a working-class ethos and one would assume several million fans. And yet, this is their first time joining forces on a co-headlining tour more than two decades deep into both acts' careers.

The Omaha Daily Herald raved about the first leg of the tour, declaring it "the pinnacle of a genre that mixes up punk rock and Irish folk, raging guitars and tin whistle, head-banging beats and bagpipes."

9/29: The Breeders

They're back on the road in support of “All Nerve,” their first album in 10 years with the classic “Last Splash” lineup – Kim Deal of the Pixies on lead vocals, sister Kelley Deal on harmonies and guitar, Josephine Wiggs on bass, and Jim Macpherson on drums. And if you liked the way they sounded in the ‘90s, you will like the way they sound on this year’s model. It’s no retread. It just taps into the spirit of the “Last Splash” days and takes it somewhere new, with all the feedback and off-kilter hooks you could want.

9/29: Death Cab for Cutie

Their flair for pretty, melancholy ballads served them well when songs from 2003's "Transatlanticism" started popping up on TV shows, from "Six Feet Under" to "The O.C." By 2005, they'd signed a major-label deal and found a new home on alternative radio with "Soul Meets Body," the first of nine Top 10 hits on that format, including the chart-topping "You are a Tourist.”

Fans watch bands such as Death Cab for Cutie and X Ambassadors at the Pot of Gold music festival 2017 day 2 in Chandler March 18, 2017.(Photo: Robert Brandan Martinez/Special for The Republic)

This show, which also features Charly Bliss, is in support of "Thank You For Today."

9/29: The Early November

These East Coast emo veterans are about to drop the long-awaited followup to "Imbue," a 2015 album on which they blurred the lines between 21st Century emo and '70s power-pop with just a hint of '90s power-pop. Think Superdrag covering Cheap Trick with an eye toward stealing fans from Get Up Kids. Alternative Press said that last album "transcended to a newfound comfort, creating the most natural music of their career."

9/30: Culture Club

Get your '80s nostalgia fix when the Life Tour brings Boy George and Culture Club back to the Valley for a show that also features celebrated New Wave icons the B-52's and Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins fame.

The tour takes its name from a forthcoming Culture Club album, their first U.S. release since "From Luxury to Heartache" hit the streets of 1986 and added "Move Away" to a string of hits that started strong with "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?"

9/30: Johnny Marr

There's a reason he took home the NME Godlike Genius Award. And it goes beyond having launched his career as the guitarist whose sound and vision helped define the magic of the Smiths.

He's also worked with the Pretenders, The The, Modest Mouse and Electronic, among others, in addition to launching a solo career, at long last, with "The Messenger" in 2013. He arrives in support of this year's model, "Call the Comet."

9/30: The Goo Goo Dolls

They're celebrating the 20th anniversary of "Dizzy Up the Girl," the quadruple-platinum triumph that sent two singles – "Slide" and "Iris," a tender ballad included on the soundtrack to "City of Angels" – to the top at alternative radio and Adult Top 40.

10/1: MC50

Brother Wayne Kramer of proto-punk legends the MC5 is the touring the States as MC50 to honor the 50th anniversary of "Kick Out the Jams," a landmark album Kramer and his former bandmates recorded live on Devil's and Halloween in 1968.

10/1: Interpol

They were the toast of the post-punk revival, topping Pitchfork's year-end album list in 2002 with their first album, "Turn on the Bright Lights," and following through with the just-as-likely-to-be-showered-in-comparisons-to-Joy-Division mainstream breakthrough, "Antics," in 2004.

Interpol perform onstage during day 1 of the 2015 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival (Weekend 1) at the Empire Polo Club on April 10, 2015 in Indio, California.(Photo: Kevin Winter)

They arrive in support of "Marauder," a sixth album NME praises for having taken "the punchy, warm sound" of 2014's "El Pintor" and folding in "some much darker, more menacing flourishes."

10/2: Courtney Barnett

She topped our albums of the year list in 2015 with the masterful "Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit," a breakthrough so brilliant it managed to earn the self-released Australian a Best New Artist nomination at the Grammys.

This tour is in support of "Tell Me How You Really Feel," a followup whose highlights range from a provocative lead single whose chorus paraphrases Margaret Atwood's withering assessment of the difference between men and women, to "Need A Little Time," a surprisingly vulnerable Beatlesque ballad. Also playing: Waxahatchee.

10/3: Brockhampton

On the opening track of last year's "Saturation III," Kevin Abstract lets you know exactly where he thinks he stands, rhyming "Best boy band since One Direction" with making listeners "itch like a skin infection." These guys have been steadily building their profile since 2015 as a self-styled "boy band" whose members came together in an online forum.

10/3: Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band

This is part of a limited run of seven dates for Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, who hadn't played live since 2013 when they rang in this year with a show in LA. And all the other dates on this run are in California. So this is what's known as a special occasion.

The voice of Bright Eyes formed the Mystic Valley Band to back him on a self-titled solo release in 2008 and by the time they followed through with "Outer South" in 2009, they'd grown into a proper band with all the members singing and providing songs.

10/3: Japanese Breakfast

Michelle Zauner has the perfect voice to have come up with two of the dreamiest indie-pop releases of the decade: "Psychopomp" and the aptly titled "Soft Sounds from Another Planet."

The A.V. Club hailed Zauner as "a sort of 21st-century Björk, whose idiosyncratic career path Zauner has even somewhat mirrored by going from rock band to more esoteric solo fare." Of course, she's also a bit of a 21st-century Roy Orison floating in space.

10/3: Bahamas

Afie Jurvanen recruited D'Angelo's "Black Messiah" rhythm section – bassist Pino Palladino and drummer James Gadson – to bring the funk and R&B vibe he was hoping to explore on “Earthtones,” his latest release as Bahamas, to life.

And it worked like a charm, especially on highlights as soulful as “Opening Act (The Shooby Dooby Song),” a gently-rocking track that boasts the album's most contagious vocal hook, and “Everything to Everyone.”

10/4: Bob Dylan

He's the poet laureate of post-Chuck Berry rock and roll. And now he's got the Nobel Prize for literature to show for it, capping a decades-long run as perhaps the most respected American songwriter in rock and roll. His latest album, "Triplicate," is his third straight collection of standards. But the last time he played here, he offset those standards with plenty of classics from his own Great American Songbook, from "Highway 61 Revisited" to "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue."

10/5: Gary Allan

He’s topped the country charts with four singles since hitting his stride in the early 2000s — “Man to Man,” “Tough Little Boys,” “Nothing On But the Radio” and the platinum “Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain),” which hit the top in 2013. He hasn’t had much luck with hits since then, despite releasing songs with names that should sound right at home at country radio (“It Ain’t the Whiskey” and “Hangover Tonight”).

10/5: The Front Bottoms

These Jersey indie-rockers pulled in raves for last year's "Going Grey," which played to their contagious strengths while expanding the scope of what they do without abandoning the quirks that made them stand out in the first place.

As Alternative Press wrote, "It would have been incredibly easy for them to rest on their laurels and placate the faithful. Instead, they took a huge creative risk, pushing the idea of what – and who – they are as a band while still retaining their identity.

10/5: Tennis

Alaina Moore explained the premise of the soft-rock duo's latest tour on social media.

"Despite being a duo, Patrick and I have never played a show together as a two-piece. For our Solo In Stereo Tour, we've decided to amend that. We have reimagined our songs for a more intimate setting, closer to the way they are written and demoed."

The shows won't be acoustic, Moore continued, but they will be pared down, the better to give the fans a "personal, song-forward show."

10/5: Fatoumata Diawara

This young African singer is the toast of the British music press. "A rising new star from Mali, she has the most gorgeous voice, a fantastic sense of melody and her guitar playing fuses spare blues, folk and funk," raved the Guardian. "Go see her."

10/5: Stalley

This Ohio-based rapper went Top 40 with his Maybach Music Group debut, "Ohio," which featured guest appearances from Nipsey Hussle, Rick Ross, August Alsina, Ty Dolla Sign, Rashad and De La Soul. PopMatters called it "exactly the album fans could’ve hoped for Stalley to deliver with for his major-label debut" while XXL found it "very refreshing in today’s rap scene."

10/6: The Flaming Lips

It takes a certain breed of entertainer to lead the members of an audience on an emotional journey from the smile-inducing spectacle of “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1,” with Wayne Coyne surrounded by giant inflatables, to the existential majesty of “Do You Realize??" But that's exactly how it went two years ago, the last Wayne Coyne brought his brand of psychedelic mischief to the State Fair.

10/6: Cody Johnson

This Texas singer-songwriter hit No. 2 on Billboard's country chart with his sixth album, "Gotta Be Me," which spawned his first Top 40 entry on the country airplay charts, "With You I Am." The album also finished 24th on a list of the 40 Best Country Albums of 2016 in Rolling Stone Country, which said, "This is a singer at home with both Texas dance halls and Sam Hunt-like recitation."

10/7: Garbage

Butch Vig produced Nirvana's "Nevermind," Smashing Pumpkins' "Siamese Dream," and Sonic Youth's seminal "Dirty." So people were paying attention when he re-purposed himself as the drummer for a edgy pop group led by singer Shirley Manson.

Their 1995 debut went double platinum, spawning the Modern Rock hits "Only Happy When It Rains" and "Stupid Girl." And they're still more than capable of adding to that legacy as they proved once again in 2016 on an album called “Strange Little Birds.”

10/7: Chelsea Wolfe + Russian Circles

Wolfe returns to Phoenix on a co-headlining tour with Russian Circles in support of last year's "Hiss Spun," an album that finds her topping Sabbath-worthy doom-metal riffs with ethereal vocals to haunting effect.

Record Collector called it both her "heaviest release yet" and "easily a contender for her best work" while noting that "vocally, there are hints of both Beth Gibbons and Jarboe, but it’s Wolfe’s own idiosyncrasies that win out."

10/8: Aubrey & the Three Migos Tour

Drake brings Migos to the Valley in what's shaping up to be the year of Drake. He's spent 27 weeks so far at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 – 11 with "God's Plan," eight with "Nice For What" and eight so far with current single "In My Feelings."

10/8: Foo Fighters

The first leg of the Concrete and Gold tour brought in raves. The Herald Whig in Champaign, Ill., said “The energy didn’t slow down at all during the near-three-hour set" while the Argus Leader called the Foos’ first Sioux Falls concert in decades as “musical genius."

Formed in 1994 by Dave Grohl of Nirvana following the death of Kurt, they've been among the most consistently successful rock acts of the past three decades, with Best Rock Album at the Grammys on four separate occasions.

10/10: 38 Special

Back for a second consecutive year, these Southern rockers hit it big in 1981 with "Hold On Loosely," following through with a string of rock-radio hits, including the chart-topping "Caught Up in You" and "If I'd Been the One."

RESCHEDULED FROM 10/10: Sting and Shaggy

Sting, who is feeling "under the weather," will be rescheduling his concert with Shaggy. The specific date will be determined.

Sting at the Van Buren?! The former Police man is making the rounds of more intimate venues than his legacy requires on this co-headlining tour with Shaggy. The ticket price is more in keeping with his legend.

Sting and Shaggy perform "Englishman in New York" during the 60th Annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden.(Photo: ROBERT DEUTSCH/USA TODAY)

The unlikely pair are combining their bands to play songs from their island-flavored album "44/876" and to collaborate on each other’s hits, including "Every Breath You Take," "Englishman In New York," "Message In A Bottle" and "Mr. Boombastic."

10/10: Lily Allen

This British singer-songwriter was GQ's Woman of the Year in 2009, the same year she released her highest-charting U.S. album, "It's Not Me, It's You."

This tour is in support of “No Shame,” Allen’s first release in four years. And the Line of Best Fit says “the time and space Lily has taken out has created a masterpiece.” It’s an eclectic affair whose highlights range from vulnerable, introspective ballads to dancehall-flavored pop while the lyrics find her turning inward in the wake of her divorce.

10/11: The Wallflowers

The Wallflowers had a good run of rock-radio hits in the '90s, including "6th Avenue Heartache," "One Headlight," "The Difference," "Three Marlenas" and a cover of the David Bowie classic "Heroes," as recorded for the soundtrack to "Godzilla." Led by Jakob Dylan, whose dad is also in the business, they picked up two Grammy Awards for "One Headlight."

10/11: 5 Seconds of Summer

These Australian heartthrobs topped the U.S. charts with a self-titled album of spirited pop-punk songs in 2014, the same year they opened a One Direction tour. Their hits include "She Looks So Perfect," "Don't Stop," "Amnesia" and "Good Girls." In their second cover story on the boys, Billboard noted, “5SOS is an anomaly in 2015: a Generation Z guitar band that sells records." This tour is in support of "Youngblood," their third chart-topping album, on which they eased up a bit on the pop-punk vibe.

10/11: Shannon & the Clams

These California rockers take their roots-revivalism seriously, as evidenced on "Onions," an album produced by the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach in his Nashville studio, where as Magnet notes, "A layered-yet-vintage, warm, highly analog sound ensued."

If someone told you this record was some great lost relic from the early '60s, you would have no reason to think they were kidding. There are echoes of doo-wop, surf and classic girl group music spread across the album's 13 tracks.

10/12: 'Fiesta Friday'

"Fiesta Friday" returns with the same lineup as last year — Baby Bash (whose hits include the double-platinum “Cyclone,” “Suga Suga” and “Baby I’m Back”), Lil Rob ("Bring Out the Freak in You" and "Summer Nights"), MC Magic and Brown Boy.

10/12: John Paul White

Best known for his former role as one half of the Grammy-winning duo the Civil Wars, White is playing an acoustic show at the Musical Instrument Museum in continued support of “Beulah,” his first solo record in nearly a decade. It’s an intimate, frequently heartbreaking album of understated folk and country ballads. Mojo writes: “His voice is parched, so the songs, many acoustic and trailing brutal honesty, speak clearly enough to grip you in their gnarled fist.”

10/12: 10,000 Maniacs

Last year marked the 30th anniversary of 10,000 Maniacs' critically acclaimed breakthrough, "In My Tribe," which Rolling Stone included in their list of 100 Best Albums Of The Eighties"

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Mary Ramsey taking over on lead vocals for Natalie Merchant. This tour includes performances of songs from "Secrets of the I Ching" and "MTV Unplugged" in addition to assorted hit singles.

10/13: Jimmy Buffett

Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band are bringing the Son of a Son of a Sailor Tour to Phoenix on their first trip to the Valley since 2013. The tour takes its name from the title of one of Buffett's most popular albums, which turned 40 earlier this year and includes the hit “Cheeseburger In Paradise,” a Parrothead favorite, as well as “Livingston Saturday Night” and “Cowboy in the Jungle.”

10/13: Intocable

These Texas norteño sensations are in their second year of touring in support of "Highway," which spun off six hit singles while taking their total YouTube views over 1 billion and bringing in their latest Latin Grammy nomination. Led by vocalist Ricky Muñoz and percussionist René Martinez, they've won two Grammys and took home a lifetime achievement award in 2012 from the Billboard Latin Music Awards.

10/13: Danny Gokey

Gokey has taken a third-place finish on “American Idol” in 2009 and parlayed it into a successful career in contemporary Christian music. So far, the soulful singer has been honored with a Dove Award and has topped the Christian album chart twice, most recently with last year’s “Rise.”

Danny Gokey opens for TobyMac during the last stop of the 2018 "Hits Deep" tour with a sold out performance at the Pensacola Bay Center on Sunday, March 18, 2018.(Photo: Jody Link/online@pnj.com)

10/13: We Were Promised Jetpacks

These Scottish rockers bring more than an excellent name and killer accents to the table – things like heart and atmosphere and majesty and, OK, killer accents.

They're touring on "The More I Sleep, the Less I Dream." A review in the Skinny noted that it "follows on nicely from their earlier releases, channeling them in a consciously reflective manner, and harnessing their typical dissonance while also not feeling as frantic in places as its predecessors."

10/13: King Khan and the Shrines

It's been five years since they hit us with "Idle No More," their latest album. But it left a listing mark with its raucous revival of several different strains of '60s rock and roll, from psychedelic soul to primitive garage-punk and horn-fueled sunshine pop.

As Line of Best Fit notes, "'Idle No More' is inspiring on many levels, but mostly because it beckons us to dance passionately and live fully in the wake of ever present darkness."

10/14: Hanson

Following a sold-out 25th anniversary tour and “Greatest Hits” collection, the Hanson brothers are headed to Phoenix on the String Theory symphonic tour, a collaboration with Oscar-winning arranger David Campbell. The set will span the length of their career, from “MmmBop,” the chart-topping bubblegum triumph that started it all, and “Where's the Love,” with full symphonic orchestration, to last year's "I Was Born" and brand new material.

10/14: Hozier

This Irish singer-songwriter only has one album to his credit, and it's four years old.

But who needs new material with a five-times-platinum calling card as persuasive as "Take Me to Church," the gospel-flavored breakthrough hit that earned the man a Grammy nomination and a spot on the awards show?

10/14: I'm With Her

This is a bit of a bluegrass supergroup, pooling the talents of Nickel Creek founder Sara Watkins, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O’Donovan of Crooked Still.

They're touring on "See You Around," a debut on which PopMatters "the trio sounds seasoned, their interactions effortless and natural," adding that "each member shines at what they do best without sounding overbearing or sacrificing the ensemble's clarity."

10/14: Mark Wills

Between 1997 and 2002, Wills was a regular presence on country radio, thanks to his knack for choosing hook-laden songs. That includes such fare as “I Do (Cherish You,” “19 Somethin’,” “Don’t Laugh at Me” and a solid cover of Brian McKnight’s “Back at One.”

10/15: Clutch

This tour with Sevendust and Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown is supporting “Book of Bad Decisions,” Clutch’s first release since “Psychic Warfare” topped the rock charts in 2015. They recorded the album live in Nashville with producer Vance Powell, whose Grammy-winning engineering work Jack White’s the Raconteurs, Chris Stapleton and Buddy Guy.

As anyone who's heard them would imagine, "Bad Decisions" sounds a good deal heavier than any of those efforts.

10/15: Windhand

These doom-metal veterans are touring the States in support 'Eternal Return,' the much-anticipated followup to “Grief’s Infernal Flower.”

According to a press release, fans can expect the new release to cover “a complete life-to-death journey” that’s also “a reflection on life's ups and downs, joys and sorrows, beginnings and ends.” Since releasing 'Grief's Infernal Flower,' the bandmates have welcomed new life, survived lineup changes and mourned unexpected death.

10/16: System of a Down

Their first U.S. tour since 2015 coincides with the 20th anniversary of System of a Down's formation, with opening sets by At the Drive-In and Skeleton Witch. They broke through in 2001 with a triple-platinum sophomore album called “Toxicity,” and have sent three singles to the top of the Billboard Alternative Songs chart – with “Aerials” and “Hypnotize.

Their biggest-selling single, “B.Y.O.B.,” won a Best Hard Rock Performance Grammy.

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10/16: Alkaline Trio

Making music with Alkaline Trio is trickier now that Matt Skiba has that side gig, Blink-182. But he managed to find time to write enough songs between Blink obligations for Alkaline Trio to record “Is This Thing Cursed?,” their first new effort since 2013. And as Drowned in Sound sums it up, "You can argue that it doesn’t break new musical ground, and you can keep your noses upturned if you like, but with consummate poise Alkaline Trio have cemented their reputation as this genre’s premier songwriters."

10/16: Rhye

The R&B duo are touring the States in support of “Blood,” their first new music since 2013’s “Woman.” And it effortlessly lives up to the promise of that celebrated debut, gliding seamless from one seductive, soulful ballad to another. The A.V. Club raved, “It’s more minimal than The xx, more romantic than the most heartsick R&B, with drums pulled straight from ’70s studio sessions. In other words, it’s a lot of things, while still sounding like nothing else out there."

10/17: Pitbull

Pitbull hit the mainstream in 2004 when "Culo," his first single, went Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. He went on to greater success with the Top 5 smash "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" in 2009, paving the way for future multi-platinum smashes "Don't Stop the Party," "Feel This Moment," "Timber" and "Fireball."

10/18: Anthrax

They're part of the thrash-metal Big Four, alongside Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth. And Spin says of that Big Four, "Anthrax have always been the most explicit in their love of hardcore, both its mosh-pit aggression and cartoonish political satire."

Their 1987 masterpiece "Among the Living" was No. 20 on Rolling Stone's countdown of 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time and made the Decibel Magazine Hall of Fame.

10/19: Gwar

These guys have taken Alice Cooper's shock-rock template to grotesque extremes in the course of advancing a visual concept based on portraying a band of interplanetary warriors, their costumes made of latex, styrofoam and hardened rubber. Their stage shows are the stuff of legend, outrageously violent and far more sexual than a Cooper show, including simulated mutilations of "celebrity" guests, from O.J. Simpson to Hitler and Snooki. They're also known for dousing fans with fake blood.

10/19: Fidlar

They set the tone for “Too,” their second album, with “40 Oz. on Repeat,” its primal power-chord attack giving way to an unexpected mellotron-and-vocals break before crashing back in with the reckless abandon it takes to put this kind of thing across. The rest of the album is just as contagious if occasionally more aggressive (see the tortured howling of the stoner-rocking “Punks”). The reviewer for DIY Magazine called it “a big, dumb-smart, happy-sad, universally-specific beast of a record, then.”

10/20: Big & Rich

It's not for nothing that they named their latest album "Did It For the Party." They're the quintessential country party band, as they reminded us at this year's Country Thunder. There were covers of “Cake by the Ocean,” “Tubthumping,” “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” “American Pie” and the theme to the “Spider-Man” cartoon.

10/21: Kamasi Washington

The L.A.-based jazz saxophonist has appeared on classic albums by Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus, Thundercat and Run the Jewels while earning accolades and a devoted following for his own music, most recently “Heaven and Earth.”

The album earned a perfect score at Consequence of Sound, whose critic hailed it as a follow-up that’s both more intimate than his previous effort, "The Epic," and "just as daring at the same time.”

10/22: Boz Scaggs

A blue-eyed soul man and a remarkably gifted guitarist, Scaggs served as the poster boy for smooth soul in the '70s with such favorites as "Lowdown," "Lido Shuffle" and "Breakdown Dead Head." He's on the road promoting "Out of the Blues," which features covers of songs by such musicians as Bobby "Blue" Bland and Jimmy Reed.

10/23: Jay Rock

A member of the hip-hop supergroup Black Hippy with Top Dawg Entertainment label-mates Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul, Rock arrives in support of "Redemption," an acclaimed third album with features by Lamar and SZA.

It also boasts his most successful mainstream breakthrough – "King's Dead." HipHopDX says the album "shines brightest when the music itself matches Rock’s dynamic performance and infuses enough energy for him to seize the moment."

10/24: Casting Crowns

These contemporary-Christian rockers earned a Grammy for 2006's "Lifesong," picked up artist of the year in 2010 at the Dove Awards and won an American Music Award for best contemporary inspirational artist for "Casting Crowns: A Live Worship Experience."

10/24: Troye Sivan

Is Sivan the "Perfect Pop Star for 2018?" That's what Timedeclared him in reviewing "Bloom," his latest album, which was hailed in that same article as "a major artistic achievement, evoking influences from the Velvet Underground to Simon & Garfunkel.”

The South African-born Australian singer-songwriter launched his career on YouTube, building enough of a buzz to earn a record deal and crack the U.S. album charts at No. 7 with "Blue Neighbourhood," his debut album.

Eight years later, Tatum returns to the Valley in support of "Indigo," a synth-driven gem that would've been all over MTV back in the '80s. The A.V. Club responded with "Emotionally rich and full of depth, 'Indigo' is easily Wild Nothing’s best album to date."

10/24: Denzel Curry

A member of SpaceGhostPurrp's Raider Klan collective, Curry arrives in support of "Ta13oo," a third album that finds him working a more soulful side of his aesthetic before coming through with the spookier textures and speed-rapping fire we've come to expect.

HipHopDX praised the SoundCloud rapper for having "constructed a project that plays to the sonic structures of the era without sacrificing meaningful content in doing so," calling it "the culmination of his promise and talent, resulting in Curry’s magnum opus."

10/25: Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats

These guys are known for their crowd-pleasing blend of old-school soul and R&B, garage rock, jazz, folk and country. They've topped the AAA charts twice — with breakthrough single "S.O.B." and this year's "You Worry Me."

10/25: Bob Moses

Mixmag call this duo's "Days Gone By" an "LP of grown-up electronica that – like John Grant's 'Pale Green Ghosts' – boasts songwriting with serious crossover potential." That certainly speaks to the pop sensibilities they flex in the Depeche Mode-worthy chorus of "Talk" and/or "Too Much Is Never Enough." And if it feels more like reflecting on what happened at the club than the song that was playing just before you stop remembering all the details, is that such a bad thing?

10/26: Josh Groban and Idina Menzel

The Bridges Tour marks the singer's return to the road for the first time since his sold-out Stages Tour in 2015 and 2016. He and his tourmate, Menzel, performed together in the London concert staging of "Chess."

His second appearance on "Ally McBeal" played a key role in launching the singer's career when he performed "To Where You Are," his first of six chart-topping hits on the Adult Contemporary charts.

10/26: Borns

There’s a chance Garrett Borns has the silkiest upper register in modern rock, and it’s put to brilliant use on “Blue Madonna,” at times recalling Freddie Mercury with hints of David Bowie. He’s also blessed with the presence (and looks) to command any crowd.

As the Boston Globe noted, “With his endearingly retro wardrobe, pre-Raphaelite locks, and perceptible air of suavity, the Michigan-bred singer-songwriter looks every bit the part of a California-desert crooner.”

10/27: Joan Baez

The folk legend brings her farewell tour to Phoenix in support of this year's "Whistle Down the Wind," her first album since 2008, which finds her covering Mary Chapin Carpenter, Anohni, producer Joe Henry and more.

Rolling Stone responded with "The takeaway from Joan Baez's latest – following her well-earned 2017 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – is how essential her work remains."

10/27: Reik

Thanks, in part, to the gorgeous vocals of lead singer Jesús Navarro, the Mexican trio Reik has been a major presence in Latin pop for more than a decade. The group recently began moving into more urban-flavored material, with tunes like "Me Niego" and "Ya Me Enteré."

10/27: Beartooth

Caleb Shomo of Attack Attack! launched Beartooth in 2012 just as something to do on the side. Three albums later, Beartooth are still going strong, earning Shomo a spot on a list in Alternative Press of "15 best screamers in modern metalcore" in 2014.

In a press release, Shomo said "Disease," their latest album, is "a whirlwind of emotion – crazy highs, crazy lows, and lots of intensity," going on to say, "At the end of the day, it is a very dark album.”

10/26-28 Peter Asher and Jeremy Clyde

Sort of super-duo for fans of soft ‘60s pop, Brits Peter Asher (of Peter and Gordon) and Jeremy Clyde (of Chad and Jeremy) join forces for a concert that draws from both of their catalogs. That means such musical memories as “A World Without Love,” “I Go to Pieces” and “Lady Godiva.”

10/28: The Damned

Their debut was the U.K.’s first punk album, preceded by “New Rose,” the U.K.’s first punk single. But it’s not the history that reaches out and grabs you by the collar. It’s the music, a glorious racket effectively underproduced by the great Nick Lowe.

And they followed through with several other underrated classics, from "Music for Pleasure" to "Machine Gun Etiquette," returning from 10 years of silence earlier this year with a solid restatement of purpose, the Tony Visconti-produced “Evil Spirits.”

10/28: Sting and Shaggy

Sting at the Van Buren?! The former Police man is making the rounds of more intimate venues than his legacy requires on this co-headlining tour with Shaggy. The ticket price is more in keeping with his legend.

The unlikely pair are combining their bands to play songs from their island-flavored album "44/876" and to collaborate on each other’s hits, including "Every Breath You Take," "Englishman In New York," "Message In A Bottle" and "Mr. Boombastic."

10/29: Christina Aguilera

The Grammy-winning superstar plays Phoenix on her first tour in a decade, in support of "Liberation," her first album since 2012. The youngest artist on Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, she topped the Billboard Hot 100 five times – with "Genie in a Bottle," "What a Girl Wants," "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)," "Lady Marmalade" (with Lil Kim, Mya and Pink) and "Moves Like Jagger" (with Maroon 5).

10/29: Still Corners

Tessa Murray always had the perfect whisper of a voice to bring Greg Hughes' haunted synth-pop songs to life. And cutting this year's "Slow Air" in the hill country near Austin, Tex., has recast her ethereal vocals in an earthier if equally evocative environment. The Skinny calls it "an escapist dream which can only offer more to the imagination with every listen" while Under the Radar hears it more as "an excellent, if not totally innovative, album of crafty atmospheric dream-pop."

10/29: Darwin Deez

The first words on the brilliantly titled “10 Songs That Happened When You Left Me With My Stupid Heart” are “The world’s best kisser is a girl who believes in nothing / She wears a lot of black and isn’t very trusting.”

And the other nine songs follow suit. Drowned In Sound says, "It’s not just that Darwin Deez have recreated their first record, but made a more mature work, building on the intellectual learnings from the music they created in between."

10/30: Lil Pump

This Florida rapper may be best known in the mainstream for his triple-platinum breakthrough single “Gucci Gang,” which peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Other hits of note include “Boss,” “Flex Like Ouu” and “D Rose.”

Those songs were all featured on last year’s self-titled debut. He arrives in support of second album “Harverd Dropout,” which got off to a strong start with his highest-charting hit since “Gucci Gang,” “"Esskeetit"

10/30: Oh Sees

These San Francisco psyche revivalists have been flooding the market with quality music since 2008, releasing an album a year (or more) while filtering their psychedelic sensibilities through the sound of “Nuggets,” noise rock, early punk and post-punk.

This year's "Smote Reverser" is a sprawling affair that finds John Dwyer and his bandmates expanding the scope of their sound in lengthy instrumental passages and songs that effortlessly blur the boundaries between every genre that gets in their way.

10/31: Tech N9ne

This underground rapper has sold more than two million albums with precious little airplay, relying instead on the grassroots following he's nurtured on the road. And making brilliant records hasn't hurt.

As he told azcentral.com, "Really good artistry always shines." His most successful songs to date are "Fragile," a 2013 track featuring Kendrick Lamar and Mayday, and 2015's "Hood Go Crazy" with B.o.B and 2 Chainz.

11/1: Maxwell

The groundbreaking neosoul singer is promising to premiere new material alongside highlights of a catalog that placed him at the forefront of his genre on his 50 Intimate Nights Live Tour. After breaking through in 1996 with “Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder)” from the aptly titled “Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite,” he topped the R&B charts with two singles, “Fortunate” and “Pretty Wings.”

11/1: The Selecter

These 2 Tone ska greats, who toured the States last summer with Rancid and Dropkick Murphys, pulled in raves for their most recent effort, “Daylight,” to which Mojo responded with “they haven't sounded so energized since their 1979 debut, ‘Too Much Pressure.’”

11/1: Rozwell Kid

These West Virginia-based pop-punk sensations are touring in support of "Precious Art," a contagious collection of sugar-coated hooks that are probably closer to power-pop than pop-punk but could speak to fans of either genre.

As Paste magazine noted, "There’s something for everyone on Rozwell Kid’s new album, to be honest: It distills down a good two decades’ worth of guitar solos, pop hooks and wink-nudge lyricism into – well, would you look at that – a delightfully precious piece of art."

11/2: The Struts

The reviewer for Classic Rock Magazine responded to their second album, "Young & Dangerous," by noting that "like all great albums, it reminds you of everything that made you fall in love with this crazy thing called rock’n’roll in the first place."

And whether, like Greta Van Fleet, their songs remind a person too much of the things that made you fall in love with rock and roll is a matter of personal taste. But they leave fingerprints all over a variety of classic records by the likes of Queen, the Rolling Stones in disco mode and even Arctic Monkeys.

11/2: The Menzingers

The best tracks on 2012's "On the Impossible Past" were cathartic, emotional stuff, like Husker Du meets Billy Bragg for kids too young to get those frames of reference.

"Rented World" took a similar approach, and they added an another album’s worth of new punk classics to the canon with “After the Party" in 2017. As Blurt responded, “They blast their way through what will be one of the best punk records you’ll hear this year, and their best album to date.”

11/2: Power Trip

These Texas thrash revivalists are touring in support of a brutal speed trial of a second album titled "Nightmare Logic." "This is no retro throwback," raved the Quietus. "Power Trip have poured their genuine, obsessive love of early thrash, but also Cro-Mags, Prong and Black Flag to create a boiling pot of modern metal mastery."

11/3: Cole Swindell & Dustin Lynch

Swindell and Lynch are playing Phoenix on the Reason To Drink … Another Tour, bringing Lauren Alaina. Swindell topped the country charts with "Chillin' It," his debut single, in 2013, returning to the top with “You Should Be Here” in 2015. Lynch has topped the country airplay charts with five songs – "Where It's At (Yep, Yep)," "Hell of a Night," Mind Reader," "Seein' Red" and "Small Town Boy."

Cole Swindell performs on the main stage at Country Thunder Arizona on Thursday, April 5, 2018.(Photo: Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic)

11/3: The SteelDrivers

"The Muscle Shoals Recordings" earned Best Bluegrass Album at the Grammys. "Everything that makes the SteelDrivers, fundamentally, the SteelDrivers," PopMatters raved, "is present and laid out on the table totally disrobed, with no frilly affectations or studio voodoo accentuating their raw mix."

Or maybe you'd be swayed more by Adele, who says, “They’re a blues, country, bluegrass, swagger band, and they are brilliant.”

11/3: Boys Noize

This German EDM DJ/producer made the Top 10 in a list Rolling Stone put together in 2012 of "The 25 DJs That Rule the Earth," the magazine praising his DJ sets as being "packed with tough, pummeling (but still funky) house and techno."

When Boys Noize dropped his latest album, the beat-heavy "Mayday," four years later, MixMag praised him for having "remained at the forefront of the scene for over a decade."

11/5: Lucero

They once titled a song “Went Looking for Warren Zevon’s Los Angeles.” And that makes sense considering how deeply informed by the songwriter ethos of the ’70s their work is, boldly chasing Springsteen while retaining a scrappier punk sensibility that frequently places them closer in spirit to the early Replacements gone alt-country. They're here in support of "Among the Ghosts," a welcome addition to their legacy whose highlights range from a handful of suitably haunted ballads to full-throated, boot-stomping rockers.

11/6: Khruangbin

The Texas trio of Laura Lee, Mark Speer, and Donald “DJ” Johnson are touring the States in support of "Con Todo el Mundo," an album of hypnotic instrumental world music jams with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern touches.

Clash Music saluted the album as "music that's so all-encompassing, so unifying, that it sounds as if every nation, creed and culture had been rolled up together and sprinkled into one hefty joint." And that seems about right.

11/7: Russ

The Jersey rapper brings his I See You Tour Part 2 to Glendale in support of "Zoo," his much-anticipated followup to last year's platinum breakthrough, "There's Really a Wolf." That album spawned two double-platinum hits, "What They Want" and "Losin Control."

It may appear to be an overnight success, but when that first song hit, the star told Billboard it was one of 87 songs he had on Soundcloud. "That’s really why I can go do shows in all these cities and sell it out," he said, "because I have real fans."

11/7: NF

This Christian rapper topped the Billboard album charts with “Perception,” to which CCM Magazine responded, “The maturity and musical experimentation grows on ‘Perception,’ yet the dynamism and authenticity remain firmly in place.” The album also featured NF's triple-platinum mainstream breakthrough, "Let You Down," which topped the Christian charts and peaked at No. 5 on Billboard's Hot 100.

11/7: Death From Above

Formerly known as Death From Above 1979, the Canadian duo of bassist Jesse F. Keeler and drummer-vocalist Sebastien Grainger are touring the States in continued support of a hard-riffing dance-punk explosion called "Outrage! is Now."

Clash Music wrote: "The fact that they are releasing ‘Outrage!’ hot on the heels of a relatively stale Queens of the Stone Age record only enhances DFA’s status as the world’s premier purveyors of hard rock that moves the hips."

11/7: Bettye LaVette

They're billing this show as an Intimate Evening with Bettye LaVette Featuring Evan Mercer on Keyboards. The venue's website says "these intimate shows allow her voice to be the complete center of attention."

She's performing songs that span her 55-year career. Here's hoping she includes a handful from her latest effort, "Things Have Changed," a soulful 12-song tribute to Bob Dylan on which she manages to make each song her own while retaining their essence.

11/8: Underoath

The post-hardcore veterans are touring on “Erase Me,” their first album in eight years and first to feature founding drummer and vocalist Aaron Gillespie since 2008’s “Lost in the Sound and Separation.”

“Erase Me” hit the charts at No. 4, inspiring AllMusic to note that “It can be considered yet another radical shift in the band's lifetime of variation, a risk that pays off with an open mind and open ears.”

11/8: Mitski

The buzz on this New York-based indie sensation began in 2014 with the release of "Bury Me at Makeout Creek," Pitchfork rightly noting that her "broad, tremulous vocals and sly humor recall Angel Olsen."

And she's only gotten stronger with each subsequent release, including this year's "Be the Cowboy," where her restless vision takes her from the throbbing disco synths of "Why Didn't You Stop Me?" to the album-closing reverie of "Two Slow Dancers."

11/8: Eyehategod

These New Orleans sludge-metal veterans are said to be working on the long-awaited followup to a self-titled effort that hit the streets in 2014 after 14 years of silence.

In reviewing the album, Pitchfork said,"They are the quintessential Southern sludge band, and were instrumental in articulating and perfecting that bleak, swaggering metal-meets-punk sound that frontman Mike Williams still calls 'heavy blues'."

11/9: Twenty One Pilots

The Bandito Tour brings the duo back to Talking Sticking Resort Arena – this time in support of "Trench," the much-anticipated followup to to a Grammy-winning, triple-platinum, chart-topping breakthrough called "Blurryface."

Twenty One Pilots(Photo: Provided by the artist)

The fastest-rising group in rock, their hits include "Car Radio," "Tear in My Heart," "Stressed Out," "Ride" and "Heathens." But to truly understand how they became so popular so quickly, you would have to see them live.

11/9: Atreyu

Taking their name from a character in “The Neverending Story,” these metalcore hitmakers rolled out of Orange County in 2002 with their Victory Records debut, “Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses.” They hit the mainstream harder in 2006 when “A Death-Grip on Yesterday,” hit the album charts at No. 9, spinning off “Ex’s and Oh’s,” their first big rock-radio hit. This tour is in support of "In Our Wake," their first release since 2015's "Long Live."

11/9: Three Dog Night

Three Dog Night dominated Top 40 radio for the first half of the '70s, with such classic hits as "Joy to the World," "Black and White" and "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)," all No. 1 singles. The group's use of three lead vocalists made them distinctive; the current lineup features only Danny Hutton. Chuck Negron has been absent from the band since the '80s; Cory Wells died in 2015.

11/9: The Orb

The electronic music legends are touring the States on a 30th anniversary tour, still led by ambient house pioneer Alex Paterson. The shows are a mix of greatest hits and highlights of their aptly titled new release, "No Sounds are Out of Bounds."

As Paterson explained the extremely collaborative approach he took on the ambitious double album in a press release, "I wanted a change to expand the palate, and to bring in other elements that will keep people guessing and keep them confused."

11/10: Five Finger Death Punch / Breaking Benjamin

Having taken one of modern metal’s greatest band names from a fatal blow in Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill: Vol. 2,” Five Finger Death Punch have sent four singles to the top of Billboard's Mainstream Rock charts, from "Coming Down" to "Wash It All Away."

They're touring in support of “And Justice For None,” which hit the charts at No. 4 in May. Co-headliners Breaking Benjamin, whose hits include "The Diary of Jane" and "I Will Not Bow," are touring in support of “Ember,” which debuted at No. 3 in April.

11/10: GHOST

Rolling Stone says they're "packing arenas because they've found the middle of the Venn diagram between metal toughness, arty self-indulgence and pop musicality" while Pitchfork notes that “the performance is nothing short of showstopping.”

Ghost lead singer Tobias Forge performs during the The Book Of Souls World Tour stop at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, AZ on June 28, 2017.(Photo: Sam Caravana/The Republic)

The Grammy-winning Swedish rockers return to Comerica Theatre in support of "Prequelle," their fastest-selling, highest-charting album yet.

11/10: Gary Clark Jr.

Named "Best young gun" six years ago in Rolling Stone, this Austin guitarist has sent two consecutive albums, "Black and Blu" and "The Story of Sonny Boy Slim," to the Top 10 on the Billboard album charts, a rarity for blues.

Entertainment Weekly said of his latest effort, "Texas blues-guitar whiz Clark's second album is less flashy than his debut, but in pulling back on the guitar heroics, he galvanizes his genre-jumping, too."

11/11: Playboi Carti

The Atlanta rap sensation hit the Billboard album chart at No. 3 in May with his first studio release, "Die Lit," after going gold with a self-titled mixtape from 2017. He's best known for the hits "Woke Up Like This" and the double-platinum "Magnolia."

Pitchfork raved, "'Die Lit' is an anomaly, an album that works almost completely from its own lunatic script. At its best – which is to say almost the entire thing, really – the album almost seems to suspend gravity."

11/11: The Internet

Al Gore may think he invented the Internet, but it was actually Odd Future hip-hop collective members Syd the Kyd and Matt Martians. This year's "Hive Mind" is their highest-charting album yet, their blend of neo-soul, R&B, hip-hop and jazz having earned them enough of a buzz to have a hit album without proper radio hits. HipHopDX called it "one of the best R&B/soul albums of 2018."

11/11: Paula Abdul

The singer/dancer and lovably kooky "American Idol" judge will embark on her first solo tour in 25 years this fall. It sounds like a full-blown journey back to the late '80s and early '90s, with such fizzy pop confections as “Straight Up,” “Cold Hearted,” “Rush Rush” and “Forever Your Girl” on the playlist. Paula talks tour, 'Idol' and that fall in our Q&A here.

11/11: Pusha T

A review in Pretty Much Amazing called "Daytona" "another rare instance of an artist coming up with a classic a decade after what seemed like the peak of his career (Clipse’s 'Hell Hath No Fury')."

That seems about right, although that writer could've added that "Daytona" may go on to be remembered as the better album, setting the tone with one of this year's most compelling singles, "If You Know You Know."

11/11: The Dirty Nil

The trouble with most power-pop is that it tends to overlook the "power" the name of the genre suggests. The Dirty Nil have never had that problem.

"Master Volume" is a master class in how this is supposed to work, rocking the pop hooks with reckless abandon and punkish intensity while singer-guitarist Luke Bentham shouts the more explosive hooks like he was raised on the chorus of Superdrag's "Sucked Out."

11/12: Phosphorescent

Matthew Houck brings his seven-piece band to the Valley in support of "C'est La Vie," his first new effort in five years, shaped by such personal watersheds as having met his wife (who's also in his band), starting a family and moving to Nashville.

This is one of the earlier stops on an extensive U.S. tour in support of the album, which makes the most of Houck's expressive vocals in a richly textured journey to the center of his mind, where "I was thinkin' 'bout another beer" is the least of his worries.

11/13: Billy F. Gibbons

He's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and deservedly so, for his decades of service to keeping the rock-and-roll party alive as the singer-guitarist at the helm of ZZ Top.

This tour is in support of Gibbons' second solo album, "The Big Bad Blues," recorded with a band that features Guns N' Roses drummer Matt Sorum. “There’s something very primordial within the art form," Gibbons explained in a statement. "Nobody gets away from the infectious allure of those straight-ahead licks!"

11/13: Mewithoutyou

These Philly-based experimental rockers arrive in support of an intensely emotional post-hardcore masterstroke, "[Untitled]."

Sputnikmusic weighed in with "It feels like something not meant for our ears – an incredibly spiritual and private moment that’s bound to compelling scripture and woeful, debilitating memories. It’s unfiltered passion that evades qualification; something to which we’d be performing a disservice by assigning a title."

11/14: Kyle

The Lightspeed World Tour is the up-and-coming rap sensation's biggest headline tour to date, in support of his debut album, "Light of Mine," with Marc E. Bassy and tobi lou. The 25-year-old is best known in the mainstream for his breakthrough single, "iSpy," a quadruple-platinum smash with a Lil Yachty featured topped the rap charts and took him all the way to No. 4 on Billboard's Hot 100.

11/14: Rodney Crowell

A former member of Emmylou Harris' Hot Band, Crowell was best known for the hits he gave away (including Bob Seger's "The Distance") when he broke through with "Diamonds & Dirt," a 1988 release that sent five songs to No. 1 at country radio. Crowell reflects on his career in our story here.

This year's "Acoustic Classics" finds Crowell revisiting a handful of the songs he gave away, including tunes that topped the country charts for Tim McGraw and Keith Urban.

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They were so young: Rosanne Cash and Rodney Crowell attend the ASCP Awards banquet on Oct. 10, 1984, in Nashville. Crowell picked up an award for "Shame On the Moon" that night. Ricky Rogers/The Tennessean

In 2017, Rodney Crowell shows off his suit, worn by John Lennon during the filming of "A Hard Day's Night," after accepting the Founders Award at the 55th annual ASCAP Country Music Awards at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Larry McCormack/The Tennessean

John Carter Cash (from left), Johnny Cash, Rosanne Cash and Rodney Crowell gather for a family meeting during a National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences party in honor of Grammy nominees in Nashville on Jan. 27, 1988. Callie Shell/The Tennessean

11/17: Lil Xan

Fueled in part by the single "Betrayed," this 21-year-old whose name is short for Lil Xanax, hit the Billboard album charts at No. 10 with "Total Xanarchy," his debut album. HipHopDX wrote, "Equipped with drowsy articulation tinged with a melodic pinch of raspiness, Xan is far from an astute lyricist but isn’t actually a slouch on the mic in terms of flow and rhyme schemes."

11/17: Ozuna

This Puerto Rican reggaeton and Latin trap singer was named 2018's Best New Latin Artist at the iHeartRadio Music Awards and won Top Latin Artist and Top Latin Album (for "Odisea") at this year's Billboard Music Awards.

11/17: Origins

Rooted in Relentless Beats founder Thomas Turner’s love for underground music, the inaugural Origins festival is presented by RBDeep, which previously was known for its club events as well as having presented stages at Phoenix Lights and Goldrush.

The lineup features Duke Dumont, Lane 8, Justin Jay, Autograf, a special sunset set by Nora En Pure, EDX, Sean Watson and more.

11/17: Tokyo Police Club

They first made a name for themselves by blazing through the seven songs on 2006's contagious "A Lesson in Crime" in little more than 16 minutes, all forward momentum and youthful abandon.

Twelve years later, they're touring in support of "TPC," a new release whose more explosive moments recapture a bit of that youthful abandon after setting the tone with the majestic dream-pop of "New Blues."

11/19: Every Time I Die

These metalcore veterans are celebrating their 20th anniversary while touring the States in continued support of "Low Teens," a punishing addition to their legacy, Keith Buckley's tortured howls leading the charge.

11/20: A Perfect Circle

Maynard James Keenan and Billy Howerdel are touring in support of their first album with A Perfect Circle since 2004's "Emotive." Released in April, "Eat the Elephant" became their fourth consecutive release to debut in the Top 5 on the U.S. album chart.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Keenan, an Arizona winemaker whose other bands are Tool and Puscifer, said, "Hopefully people see this as an honest statement from where we are, rather than us trying to relive our glory days."